Introduction
I tested the Haus Labs website’s usability as part of this assignment to see how simple it is to accomplish tasks there. Because Haus Labs is an online retailer, the website’s usability is closely correlated with how simple it is to locate products, shop, and have a positive overall experience.
The usability session’s goal was to watch users interact with the website and pinpoint any areas where they had difficulties. The emphasis was on seeing people use the internet rather than asking them what they thought of it.
Testing Setup
Three people took the usability test. On the Haus Labs website, each participant has to finish five achievable activities. The participants were asked to think aloud as they completed the activities, and their sessions were recorded.
Among the five tasks were:
– Identifying one feature of a foundation product.
– A selected lipstick is added to the purchasing basket.
– Locating a product under $30.
– Locating the brand’s return policy. – Locating a mascara product and determining its one advantage.
The usability test took ten to fifteen minutes for each participant. Additionally, we tracked how long it took the participants to finish the activities and how long they were puzzled.
Key Findings
All users were able to complete each of the tasks without any problems. However, there were a few tasks that had longer completion times than other tasks and provided some friction for users in navigation and discovering product features.
Task 1: Locate Foundation and Identify Feature
Task 1 had the longest average time to complete. Participants hesitated when making a decision on which navigation category to select in order to find the foundation product, and needed additional time looking at the product detail page to scan through the product description in order to identify the key product feature. Even though all of the participants were able to successfully complete the task, it demonstrated some inefficiency in product discovery and feature visibility.
Task 3: Locate Product $30 or Less.
Results from Task 3 showed a significant difference between the completion times of participants. Some participants chose to browse through the product list manually to find a product rather than selecting the filter option to display products by price, which may indicate that price filter options are not visually prioritized. Task 3 also showed that all of the participants were able to successfully complete the task, but that more effort than expected was needed to do so.
Strong Areas
The activities related to adding a lipstick to the user’s cart, learning about the return policy, and determining the advantages of mascara were the survey’s strong points. Everyone who participated were able to locate the return policy with remarkable speed, indicating that the informational/technological design and content were obvious.
Problem Areas and Recommendations
The site fared well overall, but the usability tests demonstrated that there were several areas with the potential for improvement.
- Navigation of Product Categories
The subjects had difficulty locating foundation products.
Suggestions to improve the experience include: Increase the visual prominence of primary navigation categories like “Face” or highlight common types of products on the home page. - Key Feature Visibility on Product Detail Pages
Users had to scan product descriptions to find key features.
Suggestion: Highlight important benefits near the top of the product details page using bullet points or other types of emphasis. - Price Filter Visibility
A few subjects did not use price filters to search for items under $30.
Suggestion: Increase the visibility or prominence of filtering tools to help users complete their tasks quicker.
You can see how there is no price listed above.
Overall, there were no significant usability issues found. All concerns dealt with efficiency and not functionality.
Conclusion
A lot of information regarding how actual consumers interacted with the Haus Labs website were uncovered throughout the usability testing sessions. While every participant completed their activities without any significant problems, a few participants hesitated somewhat when utilizing filters and conducting product searches. This suggests a chance for the Haus Labs website to enhance these aspects.
This demonstrates that the Haus Labs website is well-structured and operational, although specific enhancements (to enhance navigation and feature visibility) could boost user efficiency and enhance the overall Haus Labs online experience.
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